Wire-connector.



G. C. KNAUFP.

WIRE CONNECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED 211.17, 1913.

Patented June 30, 1914.

OFFICEQ GEORGE C. KNAUFF, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

WIRE-CGNNECTOR.

1,101 ,9,39 Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 30, 191%,

Application led February 17, 1913. Serial No. 748,841.

To all whomz't may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE C. InAUrF,

citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tire-Connectors; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

. My invention relates to connectors for electric wires or cables and particularly to the class of connectors used on the lighting circuits of automobiles.

It has been customary heretofore to deend upon the frictional engagement of slidable contacts for holding the parts of such connectors interengaged in effective contacting relation, and in practice the jarring to which connectors are subjected upon automobiles has frequently loosened this frictional engagement, thereby rendering the connectors inoperative.

One object of my invention is to provide interengaging means independent of the contacts for maintaining the manually separable parts of the connector in effective contacting relation.

Another object is to provide simple means for detachably anchoring a Wire terminal within the metal casing of a connector and for insulating the same.

A further object is to provide an elastic.

mounting for the contact -carried by one of the connector members, whereby the contacts may aline themselves to insure good current-carrying connection in spite of irregularities in the size or shape of the other portions of the connector members.

Other objects will appear from the following specification and from the drawings, in which: f

Figure 1 is a view, partly in section of a connector embodying my invention. Fig. is a longitudinal section of the same with the two parts released from interengagement. Figs. 3 and 4*- 'are end views of the connector parts.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the co-nnector .of my invention consists of two manually separable portions, each comprising a metal casing having a wire terminal mounted within the same, the terminals being preferably of the wire-wedging type shown and claimed in U. S. Letters Patent No. 1018570, issued to me February 27, 1912. One of the manually separable portions comprises a substantially cylindrical casing 1 having one end turned inwardly to form an annular flange 2 adapted to be clamped between an insulating bushing 3 and an insulating washer 4,'through both of which latter the metal sleeve 5 extends when threadedly connected to a female con tact tip 6. A screw 7 positioned axially of this contact tip is threaded into a screw eye 8, whereby the bared end 9 of an insulated cable 10 may be wedgingly secured between the-eye of the said screw eye8 and a talpering socket in the sleeve 5, after the method of the patent above cited.

The casing 1 preferably projects beyond i the end of the femalecontact tip, this end of the casing having diametrically opposite longitudinal slots 30, each slot having a circumferential extension 29 terminating in an enlarged slot end or pocket 11. The said slotted end of the casing 1 is adapted to lit slidingly into the end of the bore of a metal cylinder 13 forming the casin for the other portion of the connector; whlch latter cylinder or casing has a pair of pins or projections 14 extending inwardly from opposite sides of the cylinder and adapted to interengage with the slots in the casing 1 after the manner of aso-called bayonet catch. Adjacent to its other end, the casing 13 has an inner groove 15 adapted to receive a split ring 16 of spring wlre, thel said groove being considerably less in depth than the diameter of the said wire. Interposed between the said ring 16 '(which forms an easily removable but normally rigid, inwardly projecting flange or projection on the casing 13) and the inwardly directed projections 14, are two' members adapted to slide freely within the`casing13 but nor-- mally'held against the said ring and projections respectively by a compression spring 17 interposed between the said members.

One of these slidable members consists of a metal disk 18 having a malecontact tip 19 and a wire terminalsleeve 2() mounted thereon, both lof the latter being insulated from the disk 18 by an insulating bushing 21 and lan insulating washer 22. A screw eye 23 threaded upon the rear end of the contact tip 19 coacts with the tapered'bore of the sleeve 20 to wedgingly secure the bared end 24 of a cable 2.5, after' the manner of the patent above cited. The other slidable member consists of a Hat metal ring or auxiliary annular member 26 with a bore considerably #larger than the diameter of the male contact tip^19. Adjacent to the ring 26 and continuously pressed against the same by the spring 17, is a ring 27 of insulating material having on one of its faces a groove 28 adapted to receive one end of the spring 17.

When the two portions of the connector are approached as in Fig'. -2-, the end of casing 1 will slide within that of the casing 13, the pins 14 entering the longitudinal slots 30 while the tip of the male contact 19 enters that of the female contact 6. As soon as the end of casing 1 abuts against the metal ring 26, the spring 17 will resist a further approaching of the two connector portions, but upon forcibly continuing this approaching, the spring will be compressed, thereby permitting the ring 26 to recede until the projections 14 have reached the circumferential slot extensions 29. Then, upon slightly rotating the casings relative to each other, the projections 14 will be turned out of alinement with the longitudinal slots and upon releasing the pressure forcing the connector parts toward each other, the spring 17 will coact with the rings 27 and 26 and the tip of casing 1 to hold the said projections in the pockets 11. When the parts are thus interengaged or coupled, any pulling on the cables will only interlock them all' the more firmly (instead of separating themV as in the case of frictionally interlocked contacts), while the continuous pressure of the spring will prevent the coupled portions from being disengaged by jarring. Moreover, by making the insulating ring 27 slightly larger in bore than the diameter of the male contact tip 19, the latter may tilt slightly with reference to the axis of the casing 13, thereby allowing the intereng'aging male and female contact tips to aline in good contacting relation in spite of irregularities in the size or shape of other portions of the two connector parts.

While I have shown the connector of my invention with the male contact tip spring mounted., and with a separable cap 28 covering the rear end of one of the casings, I do not wish to be limited to these particular arrangements, as many modifications might be made in the form illustrated without departing from the spirit of my invention.

1 claim as my invention:

1. A wire connector comprising a pair of casings, one thereof equipped at one end with bayonet slots and slidingly interfitting the bore of the other casing, the last-named casing equipped with projections extending radially inward thereof and 'entering the slots in the rst-named casing when the two casings are approached, the bayonet formation of the, said slots enabling the latter to moines interlock with the said projections to couplethe said casings; a wire terminal rigidly mounted within the casing having the slots and insulated therefrom; ythe casing having the projections being equipped at its other end with rigid stop formations; a disk housed by the last-named casing' and nore posed ends ofthe said wire terminals contacting with each other when the casings carrying the same are coupled, the flexibility of the Isaid spring permitting the first-named disk to tilt about a portion of the said rigid stop formations normally interengaged thereby to move the terminal carried by the said disk laterally with respect to the axis of the casing housing the same, thereby enabling the said terminals to aline in good contacting relation; the said annular member abutting against the end of the casing having the slots and slidably moved by the said abutting engagement when the casings are forcibly approached toeifect the said ,coupling; the said spring, disks and 'rigid proj ections coacting with thesaid abutting relation of the annular disk and the end of the slotted casing to tend to separate the said casings, the said tendency coacting with the said projections and the bayonet slot formations to hold the said casings in their said coupled relation.

2. A wire connector comprising a pair of casings, one thereof equipped at one end with bayonet slots and slidingly interiittin the bore of the other casing, the last-name casing equipped with projections extending radially inward thereof and entering the slots in the first-named Casin when the two casings are approached, the bayonet formation of the said slots enabling the latter to interlock with the said projections to couple the said casings; a pair of wire terminals lll() respectively mounted within, and insulated from the said casings, the adjacent end of the said wire terminals Contactin with each other when the casings are coup ed; an annular member slidably mounted within the casing having the said projections and abutting against the end of the other casing when the casings are coupled; and a compression spring bearing at oneend against a relatively stationary portion of the casing having the said projections and at its other end against the said annular member, the said spring and .annular member coacting with the said j so v to be coupled or uncoupled; the said project-ions engaging the annular member to prevent the ejection thereof from the casing housing the same, when the casings are uncoupled.

3. A wire connector comprising a pair of casings equipped with relatively interengaging format-ions for coupling the same; a wire terminal mounted within each of the said members, the said terminals contacting with each other when the said casings are coupled, one of the said terminals being yieldingly mounted within the casing carryin the same for rendering the said terminal aterally movable relatively to the axis of the said casing, thereby permitting the said terminal to aline with the other terminal when brought into contacting relation therewith.

4. A wire connector comprising a pair of casings equipped with relatively interengaging formations for cou ling the same; relatively slidably interfitting male and female contacts carried by the respective casings substantially axially of the latter, each of the said contacts insulated from the casing carryin the same; one of said contacts being yie dingly mounted within the casing carrying the lsame for rendering the said contact laterally movable with respect to the axis of the said last-named casing, the said yielding mounting permitting the said contact to tilt into alinement with the other contact when the said casin s are coupled.-

5. In a devicevof the cass described, a cas-i ing having .an 'interior circumferential groove, an annular member seated in-said groove and projecting inwardly beyond the bore of the casing, a member slidable within the said casing,va wire terminal mounted upon said slidable member, and means `for holding the said slidable member against the said annular member.

6. In a device of theclass described, a casing having an interior circumferential groove, an annular member seated in said groove and projecting inwardl beyond the bore of the casing, a member slidable within the said casing, a wire terminal mounted upon said slidable member and spring-actuated means for holding the said slidable member against thev said annular member.

7. In a device of the class described, a casing having an interior circumferential groove, a. detachable annular member seated in said groove and projecting inwardly ,beyond the bore of the casing, a member slidable within the said casing, a wire terminal mounted upon said slidable member, and means for holding the Said slidable member against the said annular member.

In testimony whereofI have signed my name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE C. KNAUFF. Y

Witnesses: v

ALBERT. SGHEI'BLE, M. M. BOYLE'. 

